StudyLink makes chatting with our counsellors and other students a breeze

Discussion forums, newsletter blogs, web forms and instant messenger — StudyLink gives you a variety of internet options to communicate with other students and with our counsellors.

Forums allow you to post your questions on the internet and receive replies from a range of people including those planning to study in another country, those who have worked, studied, or travelled internationally, and those who are currently in another country. Some questions and concerns are quite common and someone else may have already started discussion on a topic that interests you. Browse through other postings to see what you can learn from the experiences of other students.

Discussion forums can be accessed through the home page of any StudyLink website by clicking any of the topics or threads listed under ‘Latest Discussion’. Discussion forum links are also located at the bottom of the right column within any Student Adventures newsletter article. While StudyLink’s forums are not screened and we do not guarantee the accuracy of any information posted, they can be a good place to get information from other students. You are encouraged to start your own discussion (thread) and share your experiences with others.

Blogs are set up for each of StudyLink’s monthly newsletter articles. These are monitored by our counselling team and you will receive a reply from a StudyLink counsellor. This is a place for discussion and blog comments are generally related to the article. You can also post replies here to questions or comments posted by other students. Access other newsletter editions and read the comments posted to their articles through the links in the right column.

StudyLink uses a web form for you to submit your enquiries to a counsellor. By providing detailed information in your form, counsellors can better assist you with your questions and your study plans. The more we know about you, the better we can personalise our responses to your specific background, interests and future goals.

Our counsellors can be reached by Yahoo! and MSN instant messenger (StudyLink_Counsellor) for quick questions or to discuss your study plans and applications. This can be an easy and convenient way to get answers and have a conversation with a counsellor.

If you prefer more traditional forms of communication, StudyLink counsellors are always happy to speak with you over the phone either through Skype (Skype name: studylink.counsellor) or a regular phone.

Browse StudyLink discussion forums, post a comment to an article in this newsletter, submit an enquiry with our web form or send us an IM at StudyLink_Counsellor.

StudyLink counsellors visit Edith Cowan University in Perth and Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney

StudyLink counsellors make regular visits to campuses in order to better advise you on the institutions and their offerings. During the month of May, Natasha spent a week in Perth visiting Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Deepti and Melinda visited the Sydney campus for Le Cordon Bleu.

Edith Cowan University has something to offer everyone. You can choose to study minutes away from the city of Perth or nestled in a bushland regional campus. If you’re lucky, you may even encounter a kangaroo hopping across the university’s grounds. ECU offers a comprehensive range of courses from computing and sport science to performing arts.

The university employs staff who are highly regarded within academia and industry. Along with modern facilities, extensive student support, and social events, students will find studying at ECU a unique experience. ECU can give you the edge over graduates from other universities and allow you to experience the Australian way of life.

Le Cordon Bleu’s Sydney campus specialises in Certificate and Diploma courses in Cuisine and Pâtisserie for students interested in jobs as a professional chef or pâtissier. The campus is located in Sydney’s suburbs with easy access to the city centre. Courses start in January, April, July and October. Friendly, helpful Chefs and staff along with small class sizes and impressive, fully equipped, professional kitchens facilitates the practical, hands-on focus of courses. Upon successful completion, students earn the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Diplôme and the Australian Commercial Cookery qualification which are recongised by professionals worldwide.

To find out more about studying at ECU or Le Cordon Bleu, contact a counsellor.

Important deadlines for your application

Australia – The next term you can apply for starts in February/March 2007. The application deadline for most courses is in October; however, we encourage you to apply early for best consideration. Keep in mind that you do not need to scan and attach your documents, a counsellor can do this for you. Contact a counsellor for assistance with selecting a course or completing your applications.

If you have applied to start studying in Australia in July/August 2006, you should be making final arrangements to depart for Australia. As a reminder, StudyLink will send a free Lonely Planet Australia guidebook worth AU$47.95 to any student who submits an application through one of our sites, enrols for the July 2006 intake and sends us a copy of their Confirmation of Enrolment form.

US – The next term you can apply for starts in January/February of 2007 for most institutions. Application deadlines vary and we encourage you to apply early for best consideration. Keep in mind that you do not need to scan and attach your documents, a counsellor can do this for you. Contact a counsellor for assistance with selecting a course or completing your applications.

If you have enrolled to start studying in the USA in September (first semester), you should apply for your visa immediately if you have not done so already.

UK – If you are interested in starting your studies in the UK in August/September of 2006 (first semester), you should submit your application immediately. Applications are being accepted for most disciplines and the deadline for all undergraduate applications is June 30. Contact a counsellor to discuss your study plans.

If you are applying for medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science, applications have closed for the September 2006 entry. Consider applying for 2007 or applying for a different course starting in 2006. Contact a counsellor for assistance in selecting a course.

INSEARCH offers a fast track to second year university courses in Australia

You may have missed out on a university place this year but it’s not too late to be a second year university student in 2007.

The INSEARCH Diploma of Business and Commerce (Advanced Standing) allows you to complete the University of Technology, Sydney’s first year Bachelor of Business program in two twelve-week semesters. The course runs from June to February so you are ready to enter UTS’s second year Bachelor of Business as though you had started at the same time as everyone else in the degree program. Late enrolments are accepted until the 30th of June. INSEARCH also puts you ahead of students at some other pathway providers who only complete the requirements for application to first year.

Education for INSEARCH Group General Manager Jenny Hannan said this was possible because INSEARCH was part of UTS and it designed and taught its courses in conjunction with UTS to ensure they fit the university’s requirements.

Chris Fennell is a second year UTS Bachelor of Business student who last year completed the INSEARCH pathway course. Chris said the INSEARCH course prepared him well for UTS and gave him the grounding to earn distinctions on his first two assignments.

Contact a counsellor to learn more about more about the INSEARCH Diploma of Business and Commerce (Advanced Standing) and other pathway courses.

Make your own movie at a dedicated film and TV institution in the USA

Unlike other US film schools that are part of a larger university, Columbia College Hollywood specialises solely in film and television production.

Columbia College Hollywood (CCH) has been training filmmakers since 1952 and believes the best filmmakers are those who understand all aspects of filmmaking. Writers, directors, production designers, actors, editors, cinematographers, composers, and sound mixers all benefit from understanding what's involved in writing a script, the kinds of choices a cinematographer confronts, how actors reveal subtext, how sound and music can enliven and transform a scene, and the way images are assembled in the editing room. CCH instructors believe the best way to understand these things is to experience them first hand.

Consistent with this hands-on learning philosophy, you have the opportunity to make your own movie as a senior thesis project. As everyone at CCH has this opportunity, much of the negative competitive element seen at other film schools is not present. Collaboration is emphasised at the college as you crew on each other’s projects and provide vital feedback on each other’s work. In addition, CCH is currently developing a student mentoring system with the aim of teaming new students with more experienced senior students, to nurture and assist them with their filmmaking projects.

The small class sizes mean a high level of interaction with other students and with instructors, many of whom are professionals currently working within the industry. The school’s extensive range of facilities also ensures maximum opportunity to learn. They include a shooting stage; two projection theatres; a casting room; insert stage with make-up room and wardrobe area; film editing facilities; videotape and digital editing facilities; sound recording and Foley rooms; dubbing rooms; TV soundstage; and two permanent shooting sets.

So if you have a passion for movies, a vivid imagination and the ability to tell stories visually, you could follow in the footsteps of Robert Schwentke, CCH graduate and director of the recent blockbuster Flightplan.

Contact a counsellor now to find out more about CCH and its courses.

UWIC has been ranked Wales’s leading new university three years in a row

Cardiff is more than an affordable, student-friendly city. It is home to the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) which was ranked the top new university in the UK in 2004* and has been independently acclaimed as the leading new university in Wales for the last three years.

UWIC also rates well in terms of graduates’ career prospects. Graduate employment statistics show 95 per cent of UWIC students have found employment or have enrolled for higher-level courses within three months of completing their studies. This reflects the close links that UWIC has with industry and employers and makes UWIC one of the premier universities in the UK in terms of career prospects.

These ties with industry and employers are reflected in the courses which are career-based and have a practical emphasis. Courses are offered full-time and part-time at levels from higher national certificates and diplomas, through to bachelor degrees, masters and PhD. Subject areas cover everything from accountancy and biomedical sciences to wine studies and waste management. The UWIC also offers a professional doctorate — a qualification that includes taught, experiential and research elements and results in an original contribution to learning or to the workplace. All UWIC degrees are validated by the University of Wales so they have an independent seal of approval.

UIWC has around 9000 students from all parts of the UK and from across the world. Forty different countries are represented within the student body and the International Student Welfare Office is well equipped to provide counselling, assistance with accommodation problems and advice on general issues ranging from immigration to finance. A full social program is organised for international students: It includes trips to places like London, Bath and Paris, and regular international student social evenings. Further offerings for international students include an induction program, free English language and study skills support and accommodation options.

Indian MBA student Ankur Sharma said the UWIC staff and students were really helpful. "You get to meet other students of so many different nationalities and there is so much to do and see that you just don't miss home at all," Ankur said.

Wales is a country with a great deal of history and has more castles per square mile than any other country in Western Europe. Wales also has many areas of outstanding natural beauty with spectacular coastlines and rugged mountains. Located only two hours from London, Cardiff is an excellent base from which to travel with road, rail and air links to the UK and Europe.

To find out more about what UWIC has to offer, contact a counsellor.

*The Times Newspaper's 'Good University Guide 2004' ranked UWIC as the top new university in the UK.